Pembina Valley Pride

03/03/2026

Hey best friend 👋 Up for another game night? Join us on March 8th from 7-9 PM for Carman Game Night with Pembina Valley Pride. Games, snacks, & friendly competition in a relaxed, welcoming space.

Bring your favourite game or jump into one of ours – all members & allies of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community are welcome♥️🌈

📍20 1 Avenue Southwest

02/27/2026

Hey best friend 👋 Up for another game night? Join us on March 4th from 7-9 PM for Winkler Game Night with Pembina Valley Pride. Games, snacks, & friendly competition in a relaxed, welcoming space.

Bring your favourite game or jump into one of ours – all members & allies of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community are welcome♥️🌈

📍160 Main Street

02/25/2026

Any suggestions would be appreciated 😊

I posted a request for recommendations yesterday for a q***r-friendly caterer in southern Manitoba (Pembina Valley region), and unfortunately, most commenters who responded didn't seem to understand the mission. Folks responded with general recommendations for caterers. When I asked if these were KNOWN q***r-friendly businesses, most often there was no response at all, or in a few cases I was told, NO, actually they were not q***r-friendly. THAT was the primary purpose, people!

I didn't want to say this, because it's depressing, but the reason for asking is that the q***r couple looking for a caterer for their wedding have had some awkward turn-downs already. That really sucks. I don't want them to go through that again. You don't want them to go through that again.

So, let's try this once more! Please help me find a q***r-friendly caterer in southern Manitoba. If you know someone who makes great food, but you don't know if they are 2SLGBTQ+ friendly, please consider being an amazing ally and picking up the phone, and having that conversation so that you'll really know if you can recommend them with confidence. If this seems hard for you to do, imagine how hard it is for members of our community.

02/18/2026

As a small, grassroots organization, Pembina Valley Pride relies on the generosity of our local community to fund vital programming, including our annual Pride celebration.

Sponsoring Pride 2026 is more than a marketing opportunity. It’s a way to show that you support inclusion, belonging, and the positive social change Pride represents.

At a time when many 2SLGBTQIA+ folks are still questioning whether it’s safe to show up as themselves, visible local support matters more than ever.

Visit our website to learn more about becoming a sponsor: https://www.pembinavalleypride.ca/sponsorship

🏳️‍🌈 Please note Pembina Valley Pride is currently a non-profit, not a registered charity. Official donation receipts cannot be issued for donations or sponsorships.

02/15/2026

Game night in Altona!🎲🌈

Join Pembina Valley Pride at The Community Exchange on Sunday, February 22nd, from 2-4 PM for a cozy evening of games, snacks, & friendly competition.

Bring your favourite game or play one of ours! Everyone is welcome, 2SLGBTQIA+ folks & allies from Winkler, Morden, Carman, Altona, & beyond. 💖

📍The Community Exchange, 116 Main Street

02/12/2026

Game night in Morden!🎲🌈

Join Pembina Valley Pride at the Pembina Hills Arts Council on Wednesday, Feb 18th, from 7-9 PM for a cozy evening of games, snacks, & friendly competition.

Bring your favourite game or play one of ours! Everyone is welcome, 2SLGBTQIA+ folks & allies from Winkler, Morden, Carman, Altona, & beyond. 💖

📍Pembina Hills Arts Council, 352 Stephen Street

***rAwareness

02/10/2026

Wow, what a week!

We knew our announcement was going to make some waves, but we never imagined the outpouring of support and love we have received this past week.

We’ve had many, MANY individuals, groups, and organizations who have reached out with offers to volunteer in different capacities and shared messages of love and support with us. We can’t thank you all enough for the words of encouragement and care. We also really appreciate those of you who have shared screenshots with us.

The response to our announcement really gets back to the reason we do what we do. Pembina Valley Pride started with the mission to support the q***r communities within the whole Pembina Valley. Being able to host Pride in Winkler is fulfilling the dreams of so many people and it’s an honour and a privilege to help make that happen.

We hope to see the momentum of the past week continue into June and beyond. If you’re interested in volunteering, please fill out the form on our website. Don’t stress if you don’t hear from us right away! We’ll be reaching out to volunteers closer to June.

If you’d like to offer financial support, our 2026 Sponsorship Package will be available soon. Keep an eye on our social media and our website for that!

For the most up-to-date and accurate information, your best bet is our official website and social media channels. That’s where we’ll be sharing confirmed details as plans are finalized.

Thank you thank you thank you. We know your love and support will carry through to June and can’t wait to make this the biggest celebration we’ve had yet!

Kat & Cosmo 💜 Pembina Valley Pride Co-Chairs

02/06/2026

Thank you, Rainbow Resource Centre 💜🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Rainbow Resource Centre is thrilled by the announcement of Pembina Valley Pride to host Pride celebrations in Winkler this June which reflects a clear interest and appetite for 2SLGBTQ+ visibility and celebration in the local area. Bringing Pride to more rural communities is the kind of initiative that fosters a society where people of diverse sexual and gender identities not only survive but thrive.

The Pride movement began as a protest, and it continues to be a powerful act of visibility. With more than 270,000 Manitobans considering themselves part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, including those who identify and their immediate families, events like these create spaces where people can exist openly. And they send a clear message: There is space for everyone. No fear. No shame. But instead, love and joy!

Pride helps individuals feel seen, valued, and less alone. This is especially true in rural communities, where residents may experience less real-life exposure to people who are like them. As the oldest 2SLGBTQ+ organization in the province, Rainbow stands with Pembina Valley Pride on their announcement, recognizing that through kindness, empathy, and a willingness to learn, Manitoba communities can continue working toward a future where everyone belongs.

02/06/2026

Thank you Manitoba Pride Alliance for your unwavering support! 💜🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

We want to acknowledge the recent hate speech coming from some residents of Winkler, regarding Pembina Valley Pride and their upcoming Pride event.

We also want to acknowledge concerns raised by some folks who feel that hosting Pride in Winkler does not adequately consider the safety of 2SLGBTQIA+ people because of how openly q***r-unfriendly this community can be.

We hear those concerns. We understand them. And we know Pembina Valley Pride takes safety seriously. At the same time, we need to be very clear: we are not backing down our support.

Q***r and trans people exist in Winkler. They live there. They work there. They raise families there. They deserve joy there. They deserve visibility there. They deserve Pride there.

Coming out and being proud has never come with a promise of safety, but it has always come with courage, resistance, and community care. We did not gain our rights by waiting to be welcomed. We did not gain our rights by staying quiet or staying hidden. We gained them because people stood up, took risks, and demanded to be seen, even when it was considered unsafe to do so. They made educated decisions on what was right for them.

That legacy matters. And rural prides, like Pembina Valley Pride, carry it forward.

Our goal is not to pretend the world is safe. Our goal is to make our spaces safer. That means planning, preparation, community support, and accountability. It means refusing to let hate dictate where we are allowed to exist. We will not allow hate speech to bully us out of our own communities.

Let us be absolutely clear: any threats of violence, harm, or hate speech to any Manitoba Pride events will be taken seriously, reported to the appropriate authorities, and pursued to the fullest extent of the law.

Pride is not always about comfort. It is about liberation. It is about visibility. It is about showing every q***r and trans person in the Pembina Valley, and Manitoba as a whole, that they are not alone.
We belong here.
We are not going anywhere.
And we will continue to show up: together. MPA stands with Pembina Valley Pride.
🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

02/06/2026

Hi y’all,

We’ve seen a LOT of really positive feedback about bringing Pride to Winkler which has been absolutely wonderful. We’ve also seen and received a few less than positive reactions. This isn’t the first time we’ve been to a new community and received backlash for it, and we anticipated the response we’ve received—both positive and less so. We are also hearing from some community members who already have safety concerns.

First and foremost, we completely understand the concerns that people have with us hosting Pride in Winkler. It’s scary to bring an event like this to somewhere that doesn’t scream “inclusive.” It’s scary when there are people who are trying to dictate what a community looks like, and making it abundantly clear that, in their view, that doesn’t include you.

Our purpose is and has always been to serve the q***r communities within the communities of the Pembina Valley. Something that won’t be surprising to followers of our page, but might be surprising to some people who are speaking about us, is yes, that includes Winkler. Winkler is the largest city in the Pembina Valley and q***r people there deserve to celebrate Pride in their hometown, too.

We won’t be spending our resources trying to change the minds of people who are trying to convince us that we shouldn’t have our event in Winkler, but if that’s you and you are reading this, we hope you can understand a couple things.

We are not having Pride in Winkler because we want to upset people, we “think it’s funny” or because we want to undermine the values families share with their children or grandchildren.

We are having Pride in Winkler to show q***r people that they, too, deserve to exist and be loved in our community. If you don’t share that belief, we kindly ask that you skip out on our Pride celebrations. They aren’t mandatory. There are many other places you can spend your Saturday and we hope you make it a positive, uplifting experience, just like we plan to.

To answer some questions you may have about Pride:

- We have planned to at least double our normal security detail and are working closely with our security company to ensure the utmost safety standards are kept in place. The company we work with has a lot of experience with q***r events specifically, including Pride Winnipeg.

- The plan for the day is still underway, but we already know we are NOT having a march on the street this year. We recognize that this might be disappointing to some of you, but both safety-wise and logistically, it doesn’t make sense to do.

- We plan to have our speeches and performances as we usually do. There will be a Rainbow Market with vendors, community resources, and a whole lot of love to go around. We're also hoping to have another Rainbow church service if we're able to find a suitable space to host it.

As we get closer to the date, we will be releasing more detailed information so people are able to feel as comfortable and confident as possible with our event. One thing we never want to do is put our community members at risk. We have been and will be continuing to monitor social media for threats, documenting what we find, and involving the authorities when appropriate, as we always do.

If you do see something threatening online, please send us a screenshot. One of my favourite things about our q***r communities is how we take care of each other. I have no doubt in my mind that this will be an event full of love, joy, kindness, and pride.

See you in June!

Pembina Valley Pride Co-Chairs
Kat & Cosmo 💜

02/03/2026

Game night in Carman!🎲🌈

Join Pembina Valley Pride at Paul's Place on Sunday, Feb 8th, from 7-9 PM for a cozy evening of games, snacks, & friendly competition.

Bring your favourite game or play one of ours! Everyone is welcome, 2SLGBTQIA+ folks & allies from Winkler, Morden, Carman, Altona, & beyond. 💖

📍Paul's Place, 20 1 Avenue Southwest

02/03/2026

We’re thrilled to announce Pembina Valley Pride 2026 will be taking place in Winkler on June 13th!

For the past several years, this has consistently been one of the top communities people hope to see host the event, and we are excited to bring Pride to Winkler this year.

This will be a significant moment for our community, and we hope you’ll join us in showing up, celebrating, and making it one to remember.

We’ve been busy planning and will be sharing more details in the months ahead, but mark your calendars.